|
The ''Exsultet'' (spelled in pre-1920 editions of the Roman Missal as ''Exultet'') or Easter Proclamation,〔(Catholic Culture )〕 in Latin Praeconium Paschale, is the hymn of praise sung, ideally by a deacon, before the paschal candle during the Easter Vigil in the Roman Rite of Mass. In the absence of a deacon it may be sung by a priest or by a cantor. It is sung after a procession with the paschal candle before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word. It is also used in Anglican and various Lutheran churches, as well as other Western Christian denominations. == History == Since the 1955 revision of the Holy Week rites, the Roman Missal explicitly gives the title "''Praeconium''" to the ''Exsultet'', as it already did implicitly in the formula it provided for blessing the deacon before the chant: "''ut digne et competenter annunties suum Paschale praeconium''". Outside Rome, use of the paschal candle appears to have been a very ancient tradition in Italy, Gaul, Spain and, perhaps, from the reference by St. Augustine (De Civ. Dei, XV, xxii), in Africa. The ''Liber Pontificalis'' attributes to Pope Zosimus its introduction in the local church in Rome. The formula used for the ''Praeconium'' was not always the ''Exsultet'', though it is perhaps true to say that this formula has survived, where other contemporary formulae have disappeared. In the ''Liber Ordinum'', for instance, the formula is of the nature of a benediction, and the Gelasian Sacramentary has the prayer ''Deus mundi conditor'', not found elsewhere, but containing the remarkable "praise of the bee"-- possibly a Vergilian reminiscence—which is found with more or less modification in all the texts of the "Praeconium" down to the present. The regularity of the metrical cursus of the Exsultet would lead us to place the date of its composition perhaps as early as the fifth century, and not later than the seventh. The earliest manuscript in which it appears are those of the three Gallican Sacramentaries: -- the Bobbio Missal (seventh century), the Missale Gothicum and the Missale Gallicanum Vetus (both of the eighth century). The earliest manuscript of the Gregorian Sacramentary (Vat. Reg. 337) does not contain the Exsultet, but it was added in the supplement to what has been loosely called the Sacramentary of Adrian, and probably drawn up under the direction of Alcuin. As it stands in the liturgy, it may be compared with two other forms, the blessing of palms on Palm Sunday, and the blessing of the baptismal font at the Easter Vigil. The order is, briefly: * An invitation to those present to join with the deacon in invoking the blessing of God, that the praises of the candle may be worthily celebrated. This invitation, wanting in the two blessings just mentioned, may be likened to an amplified "Orate fratres", and its antiquity is attested by its presence in the Ambrosian form, which otherwise differs from the Roman. This section closes with the "Per omnia saecula saeculorum", leading into . . . * "Dominus vobiscum" etc., "Sursum corda etc., "Gratias agamus" etc. This section serves as the introduction to the body of the Praeconium, cast in the Eucharistic form to emphasize its solemnity. * The Praeconium proper, which is of the nature of a Preface, or, as it is called in the Missale Gallicanum Vetus, a contestatio. First, a parallel is drawn between the Passover of the Old and the New Covenants, the candle corresponding to the Pillar of Fire. Here the language of the liturgy rises to heights to which it is hard to find a parallel in Christian literature. Through the outlines of ancient dogmas as through a portal we are drawn into the warmth of the deepest mysticism, to the region where, in the light of paradise, even the sin of Adam may be regarded as truly necessary and a happy fault. Secondly, the candle itself is offered as a burnt-sacrifice, a type of Christ, marked by grains of incense as with the five glorious wounds of his Passion. In pre-1970 forms of the Roman Rite the deacon, or if there is no deacon the priest himself, puts off his violet vestments and wears a white or gold dalmatic for the entry into the church with the paschal candle and the singing or recitation of the Exsultet, resuming the violet vestments immediately afterwards. In the later form, white vestments are worn throughout. The affixing, in the pre-1955 form of the Roman Rite, of five grains of incense at the words ''incensi hujus sacrificium'' probably arose from a misconception of the meaning of the text, and was removed in Pope Pius XII's revision. The chant is usually an elaborate form of the well-known recitative of the Preface. In some uses a long bravura was introduced upon the word accendit, to fill in the pause, which must otherwise occur while, in the pre-1955 form of the rite, the deacon is lighting the candle. In Italy the Praeconium was sung from long strips of parchment, gradually unrolled as the deacon proceeded. These "Exsultet Rolls" were decorated with illuminations and with the portraits of contemporary reigning sovereigns, whose names were mentioned in the course of the "Praeconium". The use of these rolls, as far as is known at present, was confined to Italy. The best examples date from the tenth and eleventh centuries.〔Kelly, T. F. ''The Exultet in Southern Italy''. New York, Oxford University Press, 1996〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Exsultet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|